


By chance, in a small café

by kurosawarubie



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:01:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26179891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurosawarubie/pseuds/kurosawarubie
Summary: Wrapping her scarf a little tighter around her neck, Riko glanced down at the location on her phone, then back up at the small brick building in front of her. "This looks to be the right place..."Riko is an artist looking for a place to spend time painting. Ruby works at a small café.
Relationships: Kurosawa Ruby/Sakurauchi Riko
Kudos: 11





	By chance, in a small café

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is another fic I wrote for myself to help calm me down. If it makes even one person happy, it's done more than its purpose. I just wanted to write something cute about autumn and coffee shops, so I wasn't sure what to say about it in the title and tags. But I had a lot of fun with it, so you might see more in this AU later. :)

Wrapping her scarf a little tighter around her neck, Riko glanced down at the location on her phone, then back up at the small brick building in front of her. Usually she would have gone to the chain coffee shop around the corner, but she found out it was closed last minute. Finding this place so close to her seemed like a miracle, and she wasn't sure how she hadn't found it before. One more time, she compared the photo on the website to the place in front of her before going up to the front. "This looks to be the right place..."

The bell on the door jingled slightly as she pushed through. Riko walked into the unfamiliar cafe, letting her eyes drift around. Her backpack rattled gently, paintbrushes hitting against the small tin she kept them in. She wondered if anyone heard them.

A few people sat around the small space, engrossed in their laptops or books. The redhead stood in the entranceway, smelling the coffee in the air. It was rather cold for October, but it felt cozy and warm inside the new place, less like a well-lit fishbowl and more like a home. Riko moved to the side when a business man ran into her back and almost knocked her over.

She quietly set her bag on the table next to the window and walked up to the counter to order. A small girl poured black coffee into a handmade mug before calling out "One large black coffee for here...? Oh no, I forgot to ask for a name, uuuh..." She tried again, a little bit louder this time. "One large black coffee!"

An older woman walked up and took the coffee, thanking the barista. Riko took a step forward. "Um..."

The girl behind the counter smiled gently at Riko as she adjusted the ponytail holder in her short red hair. A small name tag on the corner of her apron read "Ruby". Several cute pins decorated the front. "Hello! I don't think I've seen you here before. What would you like?"

A large chalkboard hung on the back wall had handwritten coffee drinks sprawled across it. Looking up at it for too long gave Riko a bit of a headache. "What do you like? Ah, w-what do you recommend?"

Ruby blushed a little, seemingly caught off guard by being asked for her opinion. "Oh, uh... I usually like sweeter things. Is that okay? What kind of thing do you like usually?"

"I'll let you decide. I'm sure your taste is good. I'd like something warm, though... it's fairly cold outside." Riko handed the girl 5 dollars. "Keep the change, okay?"

Ruby looked almost lost while watching her walk away. Riko stood in front of the seat she had claimed before, pulling out her paintbrushes and running to the bathroom to get some water. She had set up completely and started a small watercolor of the flowers near the entrance when Ruby walked up with a large pink mug. "Did I not hear you when you called? I'm so sorry!"

Ruby smiled, setting the drink on the other side of the table. "It's alright! I didn't call at all because I- I wanted to see what you were doing." She hunched over a little bit to Riko's left, looking at the barely started shades of purple and blue.

The top of the drink Ruby had made was covered by a small puff of whipped cream. Riko picked it up and took a sip. It was definitely sweet, but not overly so. It almost reminded her of something she ate in her childhood. "Vanilla caramel...?"

The barista stood up again, giggling softly. "Mhm! Um, it's not actually on our menu, but you did ask for what I liked."

"It's really nice. Thank you."

Riko smiled at Ruby, watching her examine the painting further. "I love watercolors... Well, I've never been very good at painting, though. Sewing is more of my thing."

For the first time, Riko noticed the dress under the thick black apron. It was a light pink covered in a shimmering translucent fabric. Lace lined the edges and a few seams, and a small bow was tied in the back. The girl had clearly put a lot of effort into the garment. "If you want to give it a try again, I could help you. Sometimes it just takes practice and a bit of help with technique."

"Oh, really? That'd be fun!" Ruby beamed. "So, I guess that means you like it here?"

"Y-yeah. The atmosphere is really nice, and it's quiet. I think I'll be coming back." 

The red-headed girl blushed ever so slightly. "I'm glad." After making eye contact with her customer's yellow eyes, her face heated up more. "...A- Ah, was that too much to say? I'm so sorry! Ruby- I mean, I'll leave you alone now!"

"Wait!" Riko called out a bit too late as Ruby skittered back to the counter to wait for more guests. She sighed lightly and continued painting, dipping her brush in the water. Scaring the younger-looking girl away hurt for some reason. The emotions tinged the painting with a slight melancholy, so Riko scrapped it and began again.

For a while, she focused so heavily on the painting that she didn't check the time or look at her surroundings. The coffee in front of her became cold, so she picked up her phone for a moment. 9:30. "W-wait, didn't you close at 9:00?"

Ruby re-emerged from a side door. "Ah, sorry! You looked so inspired... I didn't want to disturb you. I r-really liked... seeing you paint."

The girl coughed a little and turned around again, but Riko could hear the slight embarassment in her voice. She laughed lightly while packing her sketchbook into her bag. "I think I will come back. I hope this isn't too intrusive, but, um... When do you work? I-I mean! If you liked seeing me paint then maybe it would be nice if I could come back again? Aah, sorry! Forget that!"

Ruby turned around, blushing more than before. "Well, u-um, I'm the sister of the owner, so I'm here pretty much all the time... If you want to see me! I wouldn't push you to come back! Only if you like it here!"

The two met eyes, taking each other in for a moment. Riko sputtered a little, and suddenly, the two of them were laughing loud enough that people on the street outside the small cafe could probably hear them. The moment was full of an unexplainable joy that neither of them would be able to describe afterwards. They both took a moment to take a deep breath, then Riko slung her backpack over her shoulder and stood up. Ruby pushed her chair in as she left and came to the door after she walked out.

Stepping out of the warm cafe into the crisp Autumn air, she pulled her headphones over her ears and began to walk back home. First, however, she texted herself the address. Riko definitely wanted to come back.


End file.
